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Submitted: 01/02/07 Submitted By: x3528x
Teen Drug Abuse
Drugs. The issue of drugs is vast. Teens are bombarded with drug use daily. They are surrounded by the up side of drugs. But television, radio and film never show the negative effects of experimenting with drugs. At the same time these kids are preached the message of Drugs are Bad since they enter school. They are receiving mixed messages.
Teens are the biggest users of illegal drugs (Health Canada). 44% of Canadian teens aged 12-17 say they’ve used marijuana in the past 12 months (Statistics Canada). Isn’t marijuana a drug? Well, according to the dictionary the definition for a drug is something, other than food, that changes the way a person acts. Any Google search will reveal the almost immediate effects of smoking marijuana. The heart beat increases, up to twice the normal pace. Eyes become bloodshot (NIDA). It stirs up feelings of paranoia, creates hallucinations and weakens the short-term memory (Clear Haven Center).
To put it bluntly, teens are using marijuana, marijuana is a drug, and drugs are bad. Something is missing. Our message is not getting through to the teens.
This opens up a flood of questions. The first question that needs to be answered is why. Why do we want to stop teens from doing drugs? How harmful is it really? Well, the worse-case scenario is death. In 2003 there were 352 deaths in BC due alcohol or drug overdose. Half of them were from illicit drugs, two thirds were accidental and one quarter were suicides (BC Coroners Service). But not everyone dies.
There are harmful physical effects. Cancers. Smoking – lung cancer. Smoking 1 to 3 marijuana cigarettes is as damaging as smoking 5 times that amount of normal cigarettes. Drinking – liver cancer. 75-80% of patients with oral cancer consume alcohol frequently. (American Caner Society) Pretty much any drug increases the risks of any sort of cancer. (NIFA) Withdrawal symptoms can come in forms of vomiting, muscle cramps, convulsions, and delirium (Fact Monster) and can last for 10 days. Cocaine use can lead to heart attacks, strokes and seizures (Narcocon).
There are harmful mental effects. Drugs can alter your personality, create loss of memory. Stimulants (cocaine, crack) can cause nervousness and anxiety. Depressants (alcohol) decreases self control. (University of Hertfordshire)
After all this research illuminating the down side of drugs, it’s only logical to come to the conclusion that the cons out weigh the pros, and drugs are bad. So then why are teens using drugs in the first place? Reasons vary from person to person, but none of them start out with aspirations to get cancer, or live on the streets. Most start experimenting with drugs out of curiosity or peer pressure. They want to experience the feeling of being “high”, feeling relaxed, find relief from emotional or physical pain. It’s a general escape from reality.
When teens first start with drugs, they are only using drugs, not abusing them. That’s where the problem truly starts, drug abuse. So the question arises, where does drug use transform into drug abuse begin? Abuse is best friends with tolerance and dependence, who consequently are the parents of addiction. The dictionary definition for tolerance is “the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance”. This means, over time, the body becomes used to drug and does not react in the way it use to. The body will need more of the substance to obtain the same high it once got. This leads to dependence. There are two types of dependence, physical and psychological. Physical dependence is when the body needs the drug to function. Without the drug, the body experiences withdrawal symptoms. Psychological dependence is when the user’s mind is only focused on the drug. They lose control over their drug use, because they need it to survive. They are no longer using for the effects of being high; they are using to escape not feeling high.
There are so many harmful drugs on the streets, yet the focus has mainly been on marijuana, which seems to be one of the least harmful drugs. Why? The reason is that marijuana is viewed as a gateway drug. It’s the most commonly available drug. It is arguably the least harmful; therefore it is the least scary. Teens are most likely to start with this drug. But once they’ve used one drug, they’re open to experimenting with others. A whole new world is opened up. A world of new friends. Friends with connections. Let’s not let teens enter that world.
Submitted: 01/02/07 Submitted By: x3528x
Teen Drug Abuse
Drugs. The issue of drugs is vast. Teens are bombarded with drug use daily. They are surrounded by the up side of drugs. But television, radio and film never show the negative effects of experimenting with drugs. At the same time these kids are preached the message of Drugs are Bad since they enter school. They are receiving mixed messages.
Teens are the biggest users of illegal drugs (Health Canada). 44% of Canadian teens aged 12-17 say they’ve used marijuana in the past 12 months (Statistics Canada). Isn’t marijuana a drug? Well, according to the dictionary the definition for a drug is something, other than food, that changes the way a person acts. Any Google search will reveal the almost immediate effects of smoking marijuana. The heart beat increases, up to twice the normal pace. Eyes become bloodshot (NIDA). It stirs up feelings of paranoia, creates hallucinations and weakens the short-term memory (Clear Haven Center).
To put it bluntly, teens are using marijuana, marijuana is a drug, and drugs are bad. Something is missing. Our message is not getting through to the teens.
This opens up a flood of questions. The first question that needs to be answered is why. Why do we want to stop teens from doing drugs? How harmful is it really? Well, the worse-case scenario is death. In 2003 there were 352 deaths in BC due alcohol or drug overdose. Half of them were from illicit drugs, two thirds were accidental and one quarter were suicides (BC Coroners Service). But not everyone dies.
There are harmful physical effects. Cancers. Smoking – lung cancer. Smoking 1 to 3 marijuana cigarettes is as damaging as smoking 5 times that amount of normal cigarettes. Drinking – liver cancer. 75-80% of patients with oral cancer consume alcohol frequently. (American Caner Society) Pretty much any drug increases the risks of any sort of cancer. (NIFA) Withdrawal symptoms can come in forms of vomiting, muscle cramps, convulsions, and delirium (Fact Monster) and can last for 10 days. Cocaine use can lead to heart attacks, strokes and seizures (Narcocon).
There are harmful mental effects. Drugs can alter your personality, create loss of memory. Stimulants (cocaine, crack) can cause nervousness and anxiety. Depressants (alcohol) decreases self control. (University of Hertfordshire)
After all this research illuminating the down side of drugs, it’s only logical to come to the conclusion that the cons out weigh the pros, and drugs are bad. So then why are teens using drugs in the first place? Reasons vary from person to person, but none of them start out with aspirations to get cancer, or live on the streets. Most start experimenting with drugs out of curiosity or peer pressure. They want to experience the feeling of being “high”, feeling relaxed, find relief from emotional or physical pain. It’s a general escape from reality.
When teens first start with drugs, they are only using drugs, not abusing them. That’s where the problem truly starts, drug abuse. So the question arises, where does drug use transform into drug abuse begin? Abuse is best friends with tolerance and dependence, who consequently are the parents of addiction. The dictionary definition for tolerance is “the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance”. This means, over time, the body becomes used to drug and does not react in the way it use to. The body will need more of the substance to obtain the same high it once got. This leads to dependence. There are two types of dependence, physical and psychological. Physical dependence is when the body needs the drug to function. Without the drug, the body experiences withdrawal symptoms. Psychological dependence is when the user’s mind is only focused on the drug. They lose control over their drug use, because they need it to survive. They are no longer using for the effects of being high; they are using to escape not feeling high.
There are so many harmful drugs on the streets, yet the focus has mainly been on marijuana, which seems to be one of the least harmful drugs. Why? The reason is that marijuana is viewed as a gateway drug. It’s the most commonly available drug. It is arguably the least harmful; therefore it is the least scary. Teens are most likely to start with this drug. But once they’ve used one drug, they’re open to experimenting with others. A whole new world is opened up. A world of new friends. Friends with connections. Let’s not let teens enter that world.
